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Religious Influences On Silent Hill
The mythos of the games contains several religious parallels and themes. Christianity The religion most people think of when they look at The Order. Like Christianity, the Order calls their deity "God." Both Gods are Savior deities who are believed to one day return to Earth and give believers (or all of humanity, depending on one's interpretations) eternal life and happiness. Another idea that The Order believes in is Hell. Though not all Christians believe in Hell, especially in the modern age, but like the Order, most Christians for now believe in Hell. The Order's God is also said to be a solar deity, and within Esoteric Christianity, Jesus is a solar deity. Valtiel is also considered by The Order to be the same being as Metatron. Finally, the movie's cult, The Brethren seem tofollow some archaic Christian fanatic belief about hunting witches, although the script says they're Manichaeists. Catholicism The Order also has similarities with Catholicism specifically. The clergy performs confessionals like Catholics do. Both believe in Purgatory. Alessa also has similarities with Mary. Both were impregnated with gods despite being virgins. Both of these gods were supposed to lead humanity into salvation. Mary was believed to be born without Original Sin, and Alessa was born with powers. Finally, in the third game, the Order has made Alessa in "St. Alessa, Mother of God, Child of God." The differences are obvious though in that Mary was blessed and willingly bore Jesus, whereas Alessa was disfigured and tormented. Gnosticism Some have pointed out Gnostic themes in Silent Hill. The Order believes this world to be a Hell whereas the more fantastic Otherworld is a pleasant realm, just as Gnostics believe the physical world to be an inferior world. This is, however, reversed in that the Otherworld is actually a Hellish realm whereas the glimpses we have of the real world is it being a normal place. Alessa has also been compared to Sophia. Sophia in Gnosticism is a being who gives birth to the Demiurge, the evil deity who created this inferior physical world. Likewise, the Order's God is a creator deity and when we actually see it, she is evil. Like Sophia, Alessa also hated her "child" and tried to stop it. The script also states that the Brethren are Manichaeists, which is a sect of Gnosticism. Wicca and Neopaganism Near the end of Silent Hill 3, Heather reads part of a book on Tarot. It mentions the "Gardner deck." This is likely a reference to Gerald Gardner, one of the founders of Wicca. The Order's primary deity is also a female goddess, which mirrors Wicca and many Neopagan religions in that they place a high emphasis on female deities. Mesoamerican religion The creators have stated that the Order was partially off of Mesoamerican rituals and beliefs. We see this in the Order's practice of human sacrifice, especially when Heather pours blood on the altar found in the Otherworld Brookhaven Hospital. The names of two important gods in the Order beliefs are Xuchilbara and Lobsel Vith. Both of these names come from the Mayan language. Ancient Celtic religion The Otherworld is a term from Celtic paganism. In Celtic paganism, the Otherworld was a magical place where fairies, gods and other magical creatures lived. Some also believed it was the Celtic afterlife. The Celts believed that it was located across the western sea, underneath the fairy mounds, or right alongside our own world. In most sources, the Otherworld was believed to be a green land free from sickness, famine and old age. However, some sources say that it could sometimes be a dark, terrifying place for those not meant to be there. It is also noted that the Otherworld was supposed to have mists at its borders. The series seems to reference this in Silent Hill 3, when a sign in the shopping mall can be seen that says "Tirn Aill," which is Welsh for "fairy world" or "other world." Shinto Another possible influence is the Shinto religion. In Shintoism, there is a belief in "Kami." "Kami" is often mistranslated as "god," but it's actually more complex than that. Kami is actually considered to be anything superior in beauty and power. In this sense human beings were technically considered Kami. Kami could also be the animistic "soul" of a place, as many trees, mountains and springs were believed to have their own Kami. It is possible that the power of Silent Hill was influenced by the belief in Kami. Another aspect of Shintoism that shows up in Silent Hill is the belief in cleanliness and pollution. It is implied that the power of Silent Hill was tainted by the events that took place there. The Book of Lost Memories also states that the shrine found in Silent Hill 1 looks similar to a Shinto shrine. Lastly, Toluca Lake is somewhat important in the series. In Japanese folklore, water was thought to be a portal to Yomi. Satanism Some have pointed out the Order has similarities to Satanism. Both religions believe in the Occult and try to attain Occult powers. When the God was expelled from Alessa in the first game, it created the Incubus, which looks like the Baphomet, a figure associated with Satanism and the Left Hand Path. Judaism The first game contains Kabbalistic references in the form of a puzzle. The third game also references the Kabbalah when Heather reads about Aglaophotis. Also, enemies of the Order call their God "Samael." Samael is an angel that is sometimes equated with the Christian Devil, and is also the Angel of Death. Tirn Aill.jpg Category:Mythology Category:Religion